Thalia assumes control over the remainder of Worldview Group
After the Weltbild group declared bankruptcy in June, their retail stores ceased operation. However, their online shop and e-readers brand Tolino were put up for sale. Now, market leader Thalia is looking to seize this opportunity. Recently, the Federal Cartel Office has given its approval for this deal.
In accordance with the cartel office's announcement, Thalia will obtain the customer information from Weltbidl's online shop and the Tolino e-readers partaken by Weltbild, as well as the Weltbild brand names and domains. However, the physical stores abandoned during the bankruptcy proceedings will not be incorporated.
Thalia is the undisputed giant in the German stationary bookstore industry, as mentioned by cartel office head Andreas Mundt. He further explained that Thalia holds a significant market position in the book trade and is also a strong player in the e-books sector via the Tolino platform. Because of this, the cartel office scrutinized the acquisition of Weltbild's customer data and brands diligently.
If the deal proceeds, it is subject to approval during the first phase. Mundt underscored that the fact that Weltbild's brick-and-mortar stores were excluded from the merger played a role in the approval. Moreover, the cartel office recognized the strong competition posed by Amazon, both for the online trade of printed books and the e-books sector.
Regarding the overall market for stationary and online book sales, Mundt revealed that customers have ample alternatives available to them through independent bookstores, other bookstore chains like Hugendubel, and online retailers.
Initially, the core company of the Weltbild group filed for bankruptcy in June, coming off payment difficulties experienced in 2014. Subsequently, Weltbild subsidiary companies such as book mail-order companies Bücher.de and Jokers, and the online shop Tausendkind followed suit, filing for bankruptcy in July.
The Bank shall acquire Weltbild's customer data from their online shop and the Tolino e-readers partaken by Weltbild, as stated in the announcement from the Federal Cartel Office. Despite the approval, the physical stores abandoned during the bankruptcy proceedings will not be incorporated into Thalia's operations.
